23/06/2026
Whether I'm working with teachers, leaders, safeguarding staff or therapy clients, I notice a remarkably similar pattern.
Many of the most caring people struggle to recognise when their care for others has started to come at a cost to themselves.
In educational settings, I've often heard concerns about:
Letting pupils down.
Letting parents down.
Letting colleagues down.
Letting leadership down.
The desire to do a good job and support others is powerful.
But sometimes it becomes so powerful that personal needs quietly move further and further down the list.
Rest becomes difficult.
Boundaries feel uncomfortable.
Support feels unnecessary.
And self-care starts to feel like something that can wait until everything else is done.
The problem, of course, is that "everything else" is never really done.
I've seen versions of this in schools, healthcare settings, leadership teams and therapy rooms alike.
Different environments.
Very similar human behaviour.
Care is a wonderful quality.
But when caring for others consistently comes at the expense of caring for ourselves, it stops being sustainable.
Perhaps real self-care isn't about putting ourselves first.
Perhaps it's about remembering that we belong somewhere on the list too.
Amanda Rowe Hypno
